JP4830802B2 - Power supply hub device having terminal state detection function - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an IP telephone system including a call control server (main apparatus), a telephone, and a power supply hub apparatus that relays control signals and communication media signals between the server and the telephone and supplies the operating power of the telephone. And the user's status (presence).

  The presence function in the conventional IP telephone system notifies the presence server of a status notification operation performed on a communication terminal device (telephone or the like) using a dedicated protocol, or in the relay device as in the above-described known example, the call control server. The state of the communication terminal device is recognized by monitoring the signal transmitted between the communication terminal device and analyzing the communication content (call control state and packet type such as transmission and response).

In addition, there is a technology for recognizing the state (presence) of the terminal device by monitoring and analyzing the IP address of the IP packet transmitted and received between the server and the terminal in the router or the hub device and the packet configuration (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-237830 A

  However, in the former method, each communication terminal needs to support a dedicated protocol for status notification, and it is necessary to analyze a different control signal (such as outgoing call and response operation) for each call control server. The latter method is not effective for terminals that have not been used, and a high-performance CPU is required for protocol analysis, and control is complicated, resulting in an increase in cost.

  The present invention monitors the amount of power consumed by a communication terminal device subordinate to the power supply hub device and the variation in the amount of power, thereby eliminating the need for dedicated protocol support or protocol analysis, An object is to recognize the presence of the user and notify a predetermined destination.

Feeding hub device of the present invention has a function of supplying the operating power of the telephone device with relays a signal to the telephone unit, the power fluctuation amount monitoring means for monitoring the variation of the amount of power the telephone device consumes When having the amount of power variation pattern storage means for storing in association with the operation state of the electric energy fluctuation pattern and the telephone device, the telephone apparatus the power variation amount monitoring means is stored in said electric energy fluctuation pattern storage means When a power amount fluctuation pattern that matches or is similar to the power amount fluctuation pattern corresponding to the operation state such as ringing of a call or during a call is detected, the telephone device corresponding to the power amount fluctuation pattern to a destination registered in advance It is characterized by having a terminal state detection function for notifying the operation state.

  Existing power supply hub devices are generally provided with a means for detecting the amount of power consumption, and it is not a significant increase in cost for the power supply hub device of the present invention to monitor fluctuations in the amount of power. Moreover, monitoring of fluctuations in the amount of power does not depend on the communication protocol. Therefore, according to the present invention, a low-cost and flexible power supply hub device that can be applied to a presence management system can be realized.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an IP telephone system according to the present invention. 1, the power supply hub device 11 has a function of relaying call control signals and communication media signals and a function of supplying operating power of the communication terminals to the communication terminal devices 17A, 17B,.

  The power supply hub device 11 according to the present invention includes a communication control unit 16 that relays call control signals and communication media signals, a power supply circuit unit 153 that supplies operating power, and communication terminals 17A, 17B,. The amount of power consumed by the terminal device and the amount of power variation monitoring unit 152 that monitors the variation of the amount of power, and the amount of variation in the amount of power stored in association with the variation pattern of the amount of power and the operating state of the terminal according to the instruction of the control unit According to instructions from the pattern storage unit 12 and the control unit 14, the power amount monitoring result of the power amount variation monitoring unit 152 is compared with the patterns stored in the power amount variation pattern storage unit 12, and the matching or similar power amount Similarity determination processing unit 151 that determines the presence or absence of a variation pattern, and the similarity determination processing unit 151 that matches or is similar to each other according to an instruction from the control unit 14. When detecting, via an external notification IF unit 13, to the management device (maintenance server and presence server, etc.) 10 has a function of notifying the operation state of the terminal corresponding to the variation pattern of the electric energy.

  When notifying the above-mentioned management device (maintenance server, presence server, etc.) 10 of the operating state of the terminal corresponding to the fluctuation pattern of the electric energy, (1) automatically notifies when the state changes. (2) Notification as a response to an inquiry, (3) Notification method such as regular notification of status is possible.

  In addition, the power supply hub device 11 may have a means for displaying the stored operating state of the communication terminal on the power supply hub device 11 together with a function of transmitting the stored operation status to the management device 10 via the external notification IF unit 13.

  The power supply hub device 11 has 15 (similarity determination processing unit 151, power amount fluctuation monitoring unit 152, power supply circuit unit 153) as many as the number of interface ports to which the communication terminal device 17 can be connected (15A, 15B,...). .

  FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating terminal operation state detection and notification in the power supply hub device 11 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this sequence, the communication terminal device 17A starts from a standby state (S201). The power supply hub device 11 detects the standby equivalent power and notifies the management device 10 of “standby” (S203). When a call is transmitted from the partner terminal device 20 to the communication terminal device 17A (S204), the communication terminal device 17A enters an incoming state and rings an incoming call to notify the user of the incoming call (S205). The power supply hub device 11 detects the power corresponding to the incoming call ringing (S206), and when the change in the state of the communication terminal device 17A is recognized, notifies the management device 10 of “incoming call” S207.

  When the communication terminal device 17A responds (S208) and enters a call state, the power supply hub device 11 detects power equivalent to that during a call (S209) and recognizes a change in the state of the communication terminal device 17A. "Call" is notified S210.

  When notifying the above-mentioned management apparatus 10 of the “standby” state, “incoming” state, and “calling” state, (1) automatically notifies when the state changes, (2) response to the inquiry And (3) a notification method such as periodically notifying the state is possible.

  Next, a specific operation state detection procedure of the terminal in the power supply hub device 11 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a terminal operation state detection procedure of the power supply hub device 11 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The power amount fluctuation monitoring unit 152 monitors the power supply of the power supply circuit unit 153 and measures the power consumption of the terminal in S301. In S302, after taking a time weight of Δt, it is confirmed in S303 whether the number of samples for power consumption measurement has reached N. In S303, if the number of samples for power consumption measurement has not reached N, the process returns to S301, and the processing from S301 to S303 is repeated until the number of samples reaches N.

  In S303, when the number of samples for power consumption measurement reaches N, the power amount variation pattern (a) stored in the power amount variation pattern storage unit 12 in the similarity determination processing unit 151 is instructed by the control unit 14. Comparison with (e) is made to determine whether there is a match or similarity.

  Here, the power amount variation patterns (a) to (e) are: standby equivalent power (a), outgoing equivalent power (b), call equivalent power (c), incoming equivalent power (d), and absence mode It is an example of conditions for determining the operating state of the terminal corresponding to the equivalent power (e).

  Standby-time equivalent power (a) In S304, the standby-time equivalent power (a) power amount fluctuation pattern stored in the power-amount fluctuation pattern storage unit 12 matches or is similar to the pattern of the sample N of power consumption measured in S301. If it is determined that they match or are similar (S304, Yes), the terminal state is recognized as “standby”, and “standby” is stored in the status memory (S316).

  In S305, it is determined whether the power amount fluctuation pattern of the power equivalent to power transmission (b) stored in the power amount fluctuation pattern storage unit 12 matches or is similar to the pattern of the power consumption sample N measured in S301. If it is determined that they match or are similar (S305, Yes), the terminal status is recognized as “calling”, and “calling” is stored in the status memory (S315).

  In S306, it is determined whether the power amount fluctuation pattern of the power equivalent to call (c) stored in the power amount fluctuation pattern storage unit 12 matches or is similar to the pattern of the sample N of power consumption measured in S301, If it is determined that they match or are similar (S306, Yes), the terminal status is recognized as “call”, and “call” is stored in the status memory (S314).

  In S307, it is determined whether the power amount fluctuation pattern of the incoming power equivalent (d) stored in the power amount fluctuation pattern storage unit 12 matches or is similar to the pattern of the power consumption sample N measured in S301. If it is determined that they match or are similar, the terminal state is recognized as “incoming”, and “incoming” is stored in the status memory (S313).

  In S308, it is determined whether the power amount fluctuation pattern of the power corresponding to absent mode (e) stored in the power amount fluctuation pattern storage unit 12 matches or is similar to the pattern of the sample N of power consumption measured in S301. If it is determined that they match or are similar (S308, Yes), the terminal status is recognized as “absence mode”, and “absence mode” is stored in the status memory (S312).

  In S318, it is confirmed whether there has been a change in the state of the terminal stored in the status memory. If there is a change in the state of the terminal, the information is notified from the external device IF unit 13 to the management device 10 via the control unit 14 (S319). Thereafter, in S309, it is determined whether or not to continue monitoring the terminal state. If so, the process returns to S301 power consumption measurement, and if not, the process ends.

  In FIG. 3, the change in the state is monitored, and when the state changes, the information is notified from the external device IF unit 13 to the management device 10 via the control unit 14. Is not limited to this. For example, the latest state may be notified when an inquiry is received from the management apparatus 10 or periodically.

  The determination of the state of the communication terminal in the similarity determination processing unit 151 shown in FIG. 3 is not only a determination based on the instantaneous power amount detection, but also a power amount change tendency (power amount variation pattern) of the measured power consumption sample N. The feature is that the accuracy is improved by making the object of judgment.

Next, the contents stored in the power amount variation pattern storage unit 12 of the power supply hub device 11 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the stored contents of the power amount variation pattern storage unit 12 of the power supply hub device 11 according to the present invention.

  In the power amount variation pattern storage unit 12, a power amount variation pattern for determining the state of the terminal by the similarity determination processing unit 151 is registered. Standby (a), outgoing (b), call (c), incoming (d), and absence mode (e) are power amount fluctuation patterns for determining the state of the terminal. The power amount variation pattern is represented by power values from t0 to tN, and the interval between the power amounts is Δt.

In standby (a), the terminal power amount is P (L) for a certain time (from t0 to tN). This is an example of an electric energy fluctuation pattern indicating that the terminal is not used for a certain period of time and is in a standby state.
The transmission (b) is a periodic repetition of P (1) and P (2) when the power amount of the terminal is. This is an example of a power amount variation pattern showing a change in power amount due to operation of a call circuit in the process of listening to a ringback tone at the time of transmission. As the transmission power amount fluctuation pattern, a pattern such as an increase in power when dialing a transmission number may be registered.

  In the call (c), the terminal power amount is P (H) for a certain time (from t0 to tN). This is an example of an electric energy fluctuation pattern indicating that the terminal is in a call state because the communication circuit is in an operating state and the electric energy is P (H) for a certain period of time.

The incoming call (d) is a periodic repetition of P (3) and P (4) with the terminal power amount. This is an example of a power amount variation pattern indicating a periodic power amount change such as IR ringing at the time of incoming call.
In the absence mode (e), the terminal power amount is P (L0) for a certain time (from t0 to tN). This is an example of a power amount variation pattern in which the terminal has been saved for a certain period of time in the absence mode or the like.

  As described above, in the power supply hub device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the fluctuation pattern of the power consumption of the communication terminal (the fluctuation pattern of the amount of power supplied to the communication terminal) is compared with the fluctuation amount pattern of the communication terminal device. It is possible to recognize the operating state and notify the destination registered in advance of the operating state of the communication terminal device corresponding to the power amount variation pattern.

  In addition, when notifying the operation state of the communication terminal device to a destination registered in advance, (1) Notifying automatically when the state changes, (2) Notifying as a response to the inquiry, (3) It is possible to adopt various notification methods such as periodically notifying the state.

  The above is an example of the electric energy fluctuation pattern corresponding to the operating state of the terminal, but it is also possible to register an electric energy fluctuation pattern combining these operating states or an operating state change pattern. (Example: power amount fluctuation pattern: standby (a) → incoming call (d) → standby (a)) By using a power amount fluctuation pattern that combines each state of such a terminal, the terminal corresponding to the presence of the user or the like A specific state can be recognized.

  FIG. 5 shows a specific state recognition procedure of the communication terminal device 17A according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment of the present invention, a comparison is made with the power amount variation pattern stored in the power amount variation pattern storage unit 12 of the first embodiment. From the change in the power consumption variation pattern of the communication terminal device 17A corresponding to the state, the change in the operation state of the communication terminal device 17A (eg, from the operation state change pattern such as standby (a) → incoming call (d) → standby (a), It recognizes the current specific state (at the seat, absence, etc.) of the communication terminal device 17A with higher accuracy.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the operating state of the communication terminal device 17A. The presence of FIG. 5A can be recognized as the current specific state when the operation state of the communication terminal device 17A is changed from standby (a) → incoming call (d) → call (c).

  In standby (a), when the power consumption of communication terminal device 17A is sampled at time intervals of Δt, P (L), P (L),..., P (L) between times t0 and t5. Power consumption value. It is possible to detect that the operation state of the communication terminal device 17A at this time point is the “standby” operation state by comparing with the power amount variation pattern stored in the power amount variation pattern storage unit 12. it can.

  Next, when the communication terminal device 17A enters the incoming (d) operating state, the power consumption of the communication terminal device 17A is sampled at a time interval of Δt, and between times t0 and t5, P (3), P Power consumption values of (4), P (3), P (4) P (3), and P (4) are shown. By comparing the power amount fluctuation pattern stored in the power amount fluctuation pattern storage unit 12 with the power amount fluctuation pattern, it is possible to detect that the operating state of the communication terminal device 17A at this time is the “incoming” operating state. it can.

  Furthermore, when the communication terminal device 17A is in the active state of the call (c), if the power consumption of the communication terminal device 17A is sampled at a time interval of Δt, P (H), P ( H),..., P (H). By comparing the power amount fluctuation pattern stored in the power amount fluctuation pattern storage unit 12 with the power amount fluctuation pattern, it is possible to detect that the operation state of the communication terminal device 17A at this time is the “call” operation state. it can.

  When the operating state of the communication terminal device 17A shifts from standby (a) → incoming call (d) → call (c), the current state of the communication terminal device 17A is considered by considering the pattern of the changing process of the operating state. However, it can be recognized that the user is in a specific state of “attended”.

  On the other hand, the state of “absence” of the user in FIG. 5B can be recognized as a state in which the operation state of the communication terminal device 17A has shifted from standby (a) → incoming call (d) → standby (a).

  In standby (a), when the power consumption of communication terminal device 17A is sampled at time intervals of Δt, P (L), P (L),..., P (L) between times t0 and t5. Power consumption value. It is possible to detect that the operation state of the communication terminal device 17A at this time point is the “standby” operation state by comparing with the power amount variation pattern stored in the power amount variation pattern storage unit 12. it can.

  Next, when the communication terminal device 17A enters the incoming (d) operating state, the power consumption of the communication terminal device 17A is sampled at a time interval of Δt, and between times t0 and t5, P (3), P Power consumption values of (4), P (3), P (4) P (3), and P (4) are shown. By comparing the power amount fluctuation pattern stored in the power amount fluctuation pattern storage unit 12 with the power amount fluctuation pattern, it is possible to detect that the operating state of the communication terminal device 17A at this time is the “incoming” operating state. it can.

  Next, when the communication terminal device 17A enters the standby (a) operating state, the power consumption values P (L), P (L),..., P (L) are shown. It is possible to detect that the operation state of the communication terminal device 17A at this time point is the “standby” operation state by comparing with the power amount variation pattern stored in the power amount variation pattern storage unit 12. it can.

  When the operation state of the communication terminal device 17A shifts from standby (a) → incoming call (d) → standby (a), the current state of the communication terminal device 17A is considered by considering the pattern of the change process of the operation state. It can be recognized that the situation is a specific state of “absence” of the user.

  As described above, in the power supply hub device 11 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the power consumption fluctuation stored in the power fluctuation pattern storage unit 12 is sampled by sampling the power consumption of the communication terminal device 17A at the time interval Δt. By comparing with the pattern, the operating state of the communication terminal device 17A is detected. Furthermore, by taking into account the change pattern of the operating state, the current specific state of the communication terminal device 17A (for example, “ "Attendance", "Absence" state).

  The change pattern of the operating state is not limited to the above-described pattern of changing process of standby (a) → incoming call (d) → call (c) or standby (a) → incoming call (d) → standby (a). , Standby (a), outgoing call (b), call (c), incoming call (d), absence mode (e), and the like, there are various operation state change patterns. The operating state, presence / absence of the user of the communication terminal device, normal operation / abnormal operation of the communication terminal device, and the like can be grasped, and a wide range of applications such as management and control of the communication terminal device are possible.

  FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a specific procedure in which the feeding hub device 11 recognizes and notifies the specific state of the communication terminal device 17A in the system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 6A, the communication terminal device 17A starts from a standby state (S601). When a call is transmitted from the counterpart terminal device 20 to the communication terminal device 17A (S602), the communication terminal device 17A receives an incoming call and enters a ringing state (S603). The power supply hub device 11 detects the power corresponding to the incoming call from the result of monitoring the amount of power supplied to the communication terminal device 17A and the comparison result of the stored power amount pattern (S604), and operates the communication terminal device 17A. Recognize that the status has changed to "Incoming".

  When the communication terminal device 17A responds (S605) and enters a call state, the power supply hub device 11 determines from the result of monitoring the amount of power supplied to the communication terminal device 17A and the comparison result of the stored power amount pattern. Then, the power corresponding to the call is detected (S606), and it is recognized that the operating state of the communication terminal device 17A has changed to “call”. The power supply hub device 11 changes the state of the communication terminal device 17A to the user from the change pattern of the operation state in which the operation state of the communication terminal device 17A has changed from “standby” to “incoming” and from “incoming” to “call”. The “attended” state is determined (S607), and the management device 10 is notified of the “attended” state, which is a specific state of the communication terminal device 17A (S608).

  When notifying the management device 10 of the “attended” state, which is the specific state of the communication terminal device 17A, (1) automatically notifies when there is a change in the specific state, (2 A notification method such as notification of a specific state as a response to an inquiry or (3) notification of a specific state periodically is possible.

  Next, the case of FIG. 6B will be described. S611 to S613 are the same as S601 to S603 in FIG. The power supply hub device 11 detects the power corresponding to the incoming call from the monitoring result of the power amount supplied to the communication terminal device 17A and the comparison result of the stored power amount pattern, and the operating state of the communication terminal device 17A is “ It is recognized that it has been changed to “incoming call” (S614).

  Here, if the communication terminal device 17A does not respond to the incoming call, the user of the other party terminal 20 will give up the outgoing call and if it goes on-hook, the outgoing call is interrupted, and the communication terminal 17A stops ringing and returns to the standby state (S615). . The power supply hub device 11 detects the standby equivalent power from the monitoring result of the power amount supplied to the communication terminal device 17A and the comparison result of the stored power amount pattern (S616), and the operation of the communication terminal device 17A is performed. Recognize that the status has changed to “standby”.

  The power supply hub device 11 is changed from “standby” to “incoming” after the recognition result of the operation state of the communication terminal device 17A is changed to “standby” with no power consumption amount instead of the power equivalent to the call. From this change pattern, it is recognized that the communication terminal device 17A did not respond to the incoming call. From this, the user of the communication terminal device 17A determines that it is “absent” (S617), and the power supply hub device 11 notifies the management device 10 of the “absence” state of the user of the communication terminal device 17A (S618). ).

  When notifying the management device 10 of the “absent” state, which is a specific state of the communication terminal device 17A, (1) automatically notifies when there is a change in the specific state, (2) A notification method such as notifying a specific state as a response to an inquiry, or (3) periodically notifying a specific state is possible.

  The change pattern of the operating state is not limited to the above-described pattern of changing process of standby (a) → incoming call (d) → call (c) or standby (a) → incoming call (d) → standby (a). , Standby (a), outgoing call (b), call (c), incoming call (d), absence mode (e), and the like, there are various operation state change patterns. The specific state such as the operating state, the presence / absence of the user of the communication terminal device, and the normal state / abnormal state of the operation of the communication terminal device is grasped, and the specific state is sent to a pre-registered destination. Since notification can be made, a wide range of applications such as management and control of communication terminal devices are possible.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a connection configuration of a communication terminal device, a power supply hub device, and a management device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram in which the power supply hub device according to the first embodiment of the present invention detects and notifies the operating state of the communication terminal. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a specific procedure in which the power supply hub device according to the first embodiment of the present invention detects and notifies the operation state of the communication terminal. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the contents of the power amount variation pattern storage unit of the power supply hub device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram in which the power supply hub device according to the second embodiment of the present invention recognizes the specific state of the current communication terminal from the change pattern of the operation state of the communication terminal. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure in which the power supply hub device according to the second embodiment of the present invention recognizes and notifies a specific state of the communication terminal.

Explanation of symbols

10 Management devices (maintenance server, presence server, etc.)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Power supply hub apparatus 12 Electric power amount fluctuation | variation pattern memory | storage part 13 External notification IF part 14 Control part 151 Similarity determination process part 152 Electric power amount fluctuation | variation monitoring part 153 Power supply circuit part 16 Communication control part 17A Communication terminal device 17B Communication terminal device 20 Counterpart terminal device

Claims (2)

In the power supply hub device having a function of relaying a signal to the telephone device and supplying operating power of the telephone device,
Has a power variation amount monitoring means for monitoring the variation of the amount of power the telephone device consumes, the amount of power fluctuation pattern storage means for storing in association with the operation state of the electric energy fluctuation pattern and the telephone device,
The power amount fluctuation monitoring means stores a power amount fluctuation pattern that matches or is similar to the power amount fluctuation pattern corresponding to the operating state of the telephone device that is stored in the power amount fluctuation pattern storage means, such as an incoming ringing or a call. When detected
A power supply hub device having a terminal state detection function, wherein an operation state of the telephone device corresponding to the power amount variation pattern is notified to a destination registered in advance. In the power supply hub device having a function of relaying a signal to the telephone device and supplying operating power of the telephone device ,
Power amount fluctuation monitoring means for monitoring fluctuations in the amount of power consumed by the telephone device; and power amount fluctuation pattern storage means for storing the power amount fluctuation pattern in association with the operating state of the telephone device;
The power amount fluctuation monitoring unit detects a power amount fluctuation pattern that matches or is similar to the power amount fluctuation pattern corresponding to the operating state of the telephone device that is stored in the power amount fluctuation pattern storage unit, such as an incoming ringing or a call. And determine the operating status of the telephone device,
Recognizing the presence or absence of the telephone device or the user of the telephone device from the determined change pattern of the operating state,
Feeding hub device having a terminal state detecting function characterized that you notice the particular state to a destination registered in advance.

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